Philip White Potter (February 6, 1936 – November 7, 2016) was an English singer and actor, best known for his performances in the principal

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

roles of the

Savoy Operas Savoy opera was a style of comic opera that developed in Victorian England in the late 19th century, with W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan as the original and most successful practitioners. The name is derived from the Savoy Theatre, which impr ...

with the

D'Oyly Carte Opera Company The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company is a professional British light opera company that, from the 1870s until 1982, staged Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas nearly year-round in the UK and sometimes toured in Europe, North America and elsewhere. Th ...

from 1961 to 1971. Potter recorded several of his roles with D'Oyly Carte, and his performance as Nanki-Poo is preserved in the company's 1966 film of ''

The Mikado ''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...

''.

Early life and career

Potter was born in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

. His family moved to Wales, and he learned to speak fluent Welsh as a boy, while his father worked on rocket technology during the war. He sang as a boy soprano in the church choir. Potter's family moved to

Farnham Farnham ( /ˈfɑːnəm/) is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a trib ...

, Surrey, where he played principal roles with the Farnham Amateur Operatic Society, including Strephon in ''

Iolanthe ''Iolanthe; or, The Peer and the Peri'' () is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, first performed in 1882. It is one of the Savoy operas and is the seventh of fourteen operatic collaborations by Gilbert ...

'' (1955) and Barinkay in ''

The Gypsy Baron ''The Gypsy Baron'' () is an operetta in three acts by Johann Strauss II which premiered at the Theater an der Wien on 24 October 1885. Its German libretto by Ignaz Schnitzer is based on the unpublished 1883 story ''Saffi'' by Mór Jókai. Jokai ...

'' (1956). He studied singing at the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...

, where he won prizes as a tenor and graduated with a teaching degree. Potter taught school for a while, and then debuted in the 1958 production of ''

Where's Charley? ''Where's Charley?'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by George Abbott. The story was based on the 1892 play ''Charley's Aunt'' by Brandon Thomas. The musical debuted on Broadway in 1948 and was revived on Broadway an ...

'' at the

Palace Theatre Palace Theatre, or Palace Theater, is the name of many theatres in different countries, including: Australia *Palace Theatre, Melbourne, Victoria *Palace Theatre, Sydney, New South Wales Canada *Palace Theatre, housed in the Robillard Block, Mo ...

. In 1959, he appeared in ''Marigold'', ''

Flower Drum Song ''Flower Drum Song'' was the eighth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on the 1957 novel, ''The Flower Drum Song'', by Chinese-American author C. Y. Lee. It premiered on Broadway in 1958 and was then performed in the ...

'' and ''

Chu Chin Chow ''Chu Chin Chow'' is a musical comedy written, produced and directed by Oscar Asche, with music by Frederic Norton, based (with minor embellishments) on the story of ''Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves''. Gänzl, Kurt"''Chu Chin Chow'' Musical Tale of ...

''.Stone, David
Philip Potter
Who Was Who in the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, 27 March 2003, accessed December 5, 2016 Potter joined the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in 1961, appearing as Earl Tolloller in ''

'' and Colonel Fairfax in ''

The Yeomen of the Guard ''The Yeomen of the Guard; or, The Merryman and His Maid'', is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 3 October 1888 and ran for 423 performances. This was the eleventh ...

''. Soon afterwards, he assumed the additional roles of Frederic in ''

The Pirates of Penzance ''The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, W. S. Gilbert. Its official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 ...

'', Prince Hilarion in ''

Princess Ida ''Princess Ida; or, Castle Adamant'' is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was their eighth operatic collaboration of fourteen. ''Princess Ida'' opened at the Savoy Theatre on 5 January 1884, for a ru ...

'', Nanki-Poo in ''

'', and occasionally Marco and later, Luiz, in ''

The Gondoliers ''The Gondoliers; or, The King of Barataria'' is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 7 December 1889 and ran for a very successful 554 performances (at that time the ...

''. When

Thomas Round Thomas Round (18 October 1915 – 2 October 2016) was an English opera singer and actor, best known for his performances in the leading tenor roles of the Savoy Operas and grand opera. Round began working as a joiner and then a police officer. ...

left the company in 1964, Potter also took over the role of the Defendant in ''

Trial by Jury A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions. Jury trials are used in a significant ...

'' and the Duke of Dunstable in ''

Patience (or forbearance) is the ability to endure difficult circumstances. Patience may involve perseverance in the face of delay; tolerance of provocation without responding in disrespect/anger; or forbearance when under strain, especially when faced ...

''. He also sang Richard Dauntless in ''

Ruddigore ''Ruddigore; or, The Witch's Curse'', originally called ''Ruddygore'', is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It is one of the Savoy Operas and the tenth of fourteen comic operas written tog ...

'', beginning when that opera was revived in 1967. While he was with D'Oyly Carte, Potter also appeared every two weeks on the Welsh television show, ''Land of Song''. He left the company in 1970 (the year after his co-star, soprano

Valerie Masterson Margaret Valerie Masterson (born 3 June 1937), is a retired English opera singer, a lecturer and Vice-President of British Youth Opera. After study in Italy, she began to sing opera in Europe. Returning to England, Masterson performed as princ ...

, left the company) but returned as a guest artist to play several roles in 1970–71. In 1975, during the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company's centennial season, Potter was invited to participate in the final performance of ''Trial by Jury'', in which the company's regular chorus was augmented by fourteen former stars of the company.

Later life

In the 1970s, Potter and his wife operated a 900-year-old

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

shire ale house. He rejoined the D'Oyly Carte for the 1979 season, appearing only as Nanki-Poo in ''The Mikado''. He then continued to perform occasionally, appearing, for example, as Lord Tolloller with the Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company in 2001 at the

International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival The International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival was founded in 1994 by Ian Smith and his son Neil and is held every summer in England. The two- or three-week Festival of Gilbert and Sullivan opera performances and fringe events attracts thousands ...

, where he also occasionally gave master classes or participated in coachings and lectures for many years.Kravetz, Dan. Philip Potter obituary in ''The Palace Peeper'', The Gilbert & Sullivan Society of New York, Vol. 81, No. 4, December 2016, p. 2 Potter died in 2016 at the age of 80.

Recordings

With the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

, he recorded the Duke of Dunstable (1961), Colonel Fairfax (1964), Hilarion (1964), Nanki-Poo in "A Gilbert & Sullivan Spectacular" (1965) (excerpts), and Frederic (1968), as well as "Songs and Snatches" (1970) (excerpts from several operas). Potter also participated in a 1965

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

television broadcast of ''Patience'' as the Duke of Dunstable, and played Nanki-Poo in 1966 film version of ''The Mikado''.Shepherd, Marc
"The 1966 D'Oyly Carte ''Mikado'' Film"
''A Gilbert and Sullivan Discography'', 15 April 2009, accessed 16 July 2014

References

Sources

External links

Potter sings "Free from His Fetters Grim"
from ''

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Potter, Philip 1936 births 2016 deaths English operatic tenors Musicians from Leicestershire People from Leicester 20th-century British male opera singers 20th-century English actors